Wow, what an amazing weekend I had at Toubab Diallo artist haven! I already miss it, and know that I will go back at least one again during my time here in Senegal. We got to school Saturday morning at 7am, and a huge luxurious bus was waiting to take us to our destination! I was really surprised by that, but also really excited because that meant that I could have a whole row to myself. I was feeling kind of nauseated, and honestly thought I might throw up in the bus for the entire first half hour. Thankfully, that feeling subsided and I was able to enjoy looking out the window at the scenery.
The whole drive was kind of crazy. Looking at all the poverty out the window was an experience in itself. Also, there were some areas that were incredibly flooded – like 3 or 4 feet of water on the road and surrounding houses. That was kind of hard to see because I really look forward to the rain here (because it cools things down), but for others, dread, destruction, and death accompany rain. Also, everywhere our bus would drive by, people would be staring at it because it was so oppressively huge. And of course, within that bus was a bunch of white people. It kind of made me feel separate and superior to these people (but not in a way that made me satisfied, more in a guilty way). We were so much higher up than them, and we were sitting in this luxurious air-conditioned bus, while they were outside sweating, sloshing through puddles, and staring at us.
Anyway, we got to Toubab Diallo at around 10am. The bus dropped us off on the highway and we had to walk through the town (there were no real roads to drive through) to get to our haven on the ocean. The town was exactly like what Africa looked like in my mind – dusty, abandoned, with lots of horse poop. But we walked up to our hotel, and, OH MY GOD. The most beautiful, peaceful place ever. It kind of reminded my of that tree world in the 3rd Star Wars (the old ones). I honestly could have spent SO much time there – 1.5 days was not enough. Our rooms even had mosquito nets and fans! There was an amazing ocean view, hammocks everywhere, and tranquility around every corner. Going to a place like that makes you realize how much you needed that break from the city (I know I keep saying this, but it’s so true – I’m not used to living in a city, nor do I ever plan on getting used to such a thing)
That afternoon I learned how to do a batik. It’s a long process. First you trace your pattern, then you put hot wax on the parts your wish to keep white. Then you die the whole piece of fabric, let it dry, and put more hot wax on the parts you wish to keep that color. Then you die the fabric again, and repeat. I’m not an artist, so my batik was far from the best, but it was still pretty good and a neat experience. I also took a dance lesson, which I was a little better at. But the highlight was the amazing beach!!! I body-surfed on the waves, played Frisbee, and laid out in the sun.
Saturday night we had the most amazing meal! My stomach was still not feeling great, and I wasn’t able to eat the entrée, but there was an appetizer of salad and couscous!! So I feasted on that, and it went down so wonderfully. My body was screaming, convulsing! After dinner, I sat in this chair overlooking the water, and stared at the full moon and the waves. Wow, it was paradise!
Sunday was a repeat of the same, except that the thought that we had to leave was looming in my mind the entire time. I don’t think any of us were ready to do so. Also, I knew that this week of school was going to be the first “real” week of school (2 tests, a paper, 250 page book to read, and 30 sentences of Wolof to write). But I sat back, looked at, listened to, and smelled the ocean. I walked up and down the sand, soaking in the African rays of sand. I at mango and bananas, and napped in a hammock. Ahh, just writing this is making me nostalgic…
Anyway, now I’m back in Dakar, and things are good, but I was definitely spoiled this weekend. Also, my tummy is still a little off – it’s my appetite for food with any taste that hasn’t come back yet. Fruit, veggies, bread, and plain rice are fine though, ha! Also, I got this weird rash on my legs – either from the ocean, or the bed. Catherine, our director, thinks it’s bed bugs. Yuck! I put nail polish on it to kill whatever bugs are there (if in fact the rash is due to bed bugs), but peeling the nail polish off now is a whole other issue…
My heavenly weekend
